Chapter 26
The Spirit Realm – Part 4
In a blink of an eye, when I open my eyes, I see that we've already reached our destination, which is the Shaman world. We're currently standing on a small podium, consisting of Brayden, Troy, Marcus, Dave and I. My eyes roam around the area, seeing new faces. People who are passing by are giving us second glances, probably thinking why the hell we're here in their world.
There are a group of teenagers pass by and they're still wearing uniform, indicating that they have gone to school and classes just ended, their staff – some have short staffs and others have long staff, is on their backs.
"Wow." Marcus says in awe as his eyes roam the place, his head tilting 360 degrees. I couldn't agree more to Marcus's statement. "This place is beautiful."
This place looks like it's part of the heaven. Though the sky is just the same as Earth; cloudy, bright and peaceful, this place consists a lot of art. From the style of the houses, which looks like it has been built in circa 1600s, to the arches and statues that were built across the field. Their names are listed on a gold placard.
"Is that Gage Hunter's statue, the recent Guardian of the Shamans?" Marcus asks to Brayden. Brayden nods, a smile curling across his lips as he beams brightly at Marcus. "Wow. I'd never thought that I'd see him. I mean, his features and all. From what I've heard, Gage Hunter was one of the best Guardians in general ever. Also from what I've heard, ever since Magenta, the Guardian of the Pixies, died, that's when the Book of the Guardians got lost. I believe that someone took it. I just have no idea who."
"Gage Hunter was one of the best Guardians we've all had," Brayden agrees, looking towards the statue of the late Guardian of the Shamans. "He's my idol. It's him the reason why I'm here in this type of position. Anyways, Gage Hunter passed the Book of the Guardians to Magenta, I think. Wait. I'm confused. Hey Peitho..."
Dave's head shoots upwards, his eyes glowing royal blue, looking straight to Brayden's. "I had the Book of the Guardians once, but before Ean Thomas, my human form, and I broke the Forbidden Law, we gave it to an Elder named Michelle. The last Guardian before me was the Guardian of the Pixies named Myrna Skyfield."
Everyone has a thoughtful look on their faces, thinking where could possibly be the Book of the Guardians. To be honest, thinking those missing things makes me have a bad headache. The prophecies are missing, the Book of the Guardian is missing, what else important could be missing?
Marcus and Peitho shrug, and Dave's eyes turn back to the normal ones, indicating that Peitho let Dave take over. We step out of the podium and let the cold blow of the air greet us. There's a big fountain at the center, and I'm guessing that we're in the center of their town. There's no car visible in my sight. Perhaps they are not using cars at all.
That's a bit sad and boring.
Despite this place being beautiful and heaven-like, I'm starting to miss Earth or the place where my friends are, where my family is. But looking over at Dave, I think that as long as I'm here with him, or him with me, I should be fine.
We start to move at a slow pace, our eyes are wandering around the Shaman's world. Everything here is beautiful. The flowers are blooming brightly, the howl of the wind is calm, the chitchats of the passersby are growing louder and louder. You'd think that this is just a normal world but no, Shamans are having issues with their main realm, which is the Spirit Realm. That's why they need the help of a Guardian and a human that have been transported into the Spirit Realm.
"Before we do the ritual, let's go meet Queen Shedia first. She's been waiting for our arrival ever since." Brayden says as he leads us to another path that leads specifically to the castle of the Queen of the Shamans. The castle is very huge that my jaw hangs open, unable to believe what I'm seeing. Everyone seems to get the same reaction as me except Troy, who probably has been travelling here a lot, and Brayden who has been born in this place. "They say that the Kingdom of the Shamans has the biggest castle of all castles." Brayden chuckles, his eyes crinkling as he does so.
"That is a huge castle, man!" Marcus hollers, his eyes twinkling brightly, excited to be inside the castle, his pace fastening. He looks at us, shaking his head, his eyes still wide. "We're friends with the Great Alpha, who's probably the strongest werewolf in our generation yet he doesn't have a castle like this!"
"I agree with you, Marc." I chortle, grinning at him. "Cloud should consider building himself a castle bigger than the Shaman's."
Dave has been quiet throughout the journey to the castle of the Queen Shedia.
I cannot really blame him at all. It's normal for a creature to feel scared and afraid; that's what I was feeling earlier. In fact, I still feel those, but as long as I'm believing in him, believing that he'd get this done as soon as possible, nothing could go wrong.
Grabbing his hand without permission, Dave looks at our intertwined hands and a blush appears in his cheeks, a small smile tugging on his lips though he tries to hide his smile away from me. I bring the back of his hand to my lips, planting a soft kiss on it and his blush deepens, his face looking like a tomato. Marcus looks at me over his shoulder and sees Dave and I's intertwined hands, and gives me a double wink and I laugh lightly, slightly and softly pushing him.
When we get inside the castle, it's nothing like a castle we've seen in the cartoon movies such as Cinderella or the other Disney movies. No, Queen Shedia's castle is more extravagant, more perfect, and more beautiful than those Disney castles. It's nothing simple and it looks like it has taken years and years before the castle has been completed. From the designs of the carpets and floors up to the heaven-like designs of the ceiling, everything here is beyond perfect.
I have not seen the other castle of the other worlds, but I'd vote Queen Shedia's castle as the most perfect and beautiful castle ever. And I believe everyone agrees to that.
We pass a long carpeted hallway, then we turn right, and another right, and to the left, and at the end of the hallway is a huge oak door, etched with what looks like the spirits or something. Anyways it makes me cringe. Brayden knocks on the door several times until the sweet voice of Queen Shedia echoes around the room. The Shaman opens the door, revealing a room, which walls are painted with light red. In fact, everything in the room is red. I swear the Queen of the Shamans has a big obsession in red.
Queen Shedia is wearing a red robe, the hood resting at the back of her head. Her skin complexion is dark, her eyes are a shade of red. She has a lot of bracelets around on both of her wrists, her black hair is flowing freely around her shoulders. When she sees us, she gives us a creepy smile and every one of us shivers except Troy and Brayden.
"Good morning, folks." She smiles as she motions for us to come forward, gesturing for us to take a seat on the chairs that are pushed on the wall. "I hope you've all had a good day until now." I don't even know what she means. She tilts her head, clasping her hands at her back as she paces back and forth slowly, our eyes following her movements. "I know that this is nightmare for everyone. I'm sorry to bug you Dave, or Peitho, but we really need your help regarding this. Once this ends, I'll make sure to pay your kindness."
Dave stutters, scratching the back of his neck as he speaks to the Queen of the Shamans. "It's nothing. You don't need to do that, Queen... Shedia?" – he asks, unsure – "What I'm doing, I know it's actually what's best for me. I believe that this will help me understand everything and once I do, everything will not be a blur anymore. Peitho wants this, too, as he wants to know why I got his soul. We would like to know on how this fusion happened."
Queen Shedia nods, smiling brightly, her eyes practically glowing as she stares at us. "I know where you are coming from, Dave. It must be a big confusion in your part. Even to us Shamans. In my perspective, I'm seeing a wolf that has been given a chance to be happy; a human that has been given a chance to be jovial. Both of you have been given a chance to feel love. That's what I see."